May 17th, 2019

Friday evening I'll be at one of my favorite LA theaters...The Road Theatre Company in North Hollywood. Every single play I've seen at this company totally rocked. They are always at their best.

So I naturally can't wait to see their new production which opens Friday May 17th at 8pm entitled AT THE TABLE, written by Michael Perlman and directed by Judith Moreland. The play has been called by its creators as a 'Big Chill' for the millennial generations. If you haven't seen it, you're missing an iconic film.

AT THE TABLE is about six ethnically and sexually diverse friends who head out of the city on their annual weekend retreat. With no social media, no cell phones, no internet allowed at all, this leaves them with one thing to do...look up from their screens and talk to each other. Remember talking?

When the liquor starts flowing and the tongues loosen, no conversation is uneventful and no topic is off limits. In the end, these so called liberal friends realize they're not as enlightened or diverse as they thought.

The Road Theatre is located at 5108 Lankershim Blvd in North Hollywood. The play runs Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm. until July 7th. For more information and to purchase tickets go to RoadTheatre.org or call 818-761-8838.

And now for something completely different. JOHN WICK 3...Parabellum. First I must say that I absolutely loved the first JOHN WICK as well as the second one. Yes, both films were violent but the story penetrated through all the brilliantly staged sword fights, knife fights, hand to hand combat scenes to old fashioned gun fights which are anything but old fashion.

In the first film we meet Keanu Reeves who nailed the part of the assassin who miraculously retires after marrying the love of his life. Her sudden death leaves him in deep mourning.

When a sadistic mobster and his thugs steal John's prized car and kill the puppy that was a last gift from his wife, he unleashes the remorseless killing machine within and seeks vengeance. The world created by the writer Derek Kolstad and directed Chad Taheiski was just so creative and so extremely original that you didn't mind the excessive violence and the same goes for the second film.

This brings us to John Wick 3...Parabellum which opens where the second film leaves off. John has to get out of New York City fast. And I mean FAST. Wick has been deemed 'Excommunicated' by the High Table and all of his rights and privileges are stripped away and there's an open contract on him starting at $14 million dollars. So basically every single person in New York City and all around the globe are trying to kill the dude.

BTW, The film is 133 minutes long and 110 minutes is violence to the extreme. I'm talking about sadistic, savage violence. At first it was applauded BY THE AUDIENCE at the press screening I attended. Then the audience started to laugh and then silence. I don't know what they were feeling but personally I was bored by the overly long fight scenes.

Yes the cast is great. Ian McShane's part as the proprietor of the assassins home away from home, the Continental Hotel, an establishment designated as a safe ground for those in the killing trade.

The film also stars Halle Berry, who is upstaged by her two incredible dogs, and Ava Kate Dillon (Billions), who plays The Adjudicator who arrives in New York City to make sure her minions get the job done.

The film has received great reviews but it just didn't do for me. Love to know what you think. It opens in theatres November 14th.

Now after all this excitement I recommend spending the day at the Aquarium of the Pacific. It houses an art gallery that transports you under the ocean, a state of the art theatre with multi sensory effects and a culmination gallery with interactive game tables, and live animal exhibits including the first and only public aquarium exhibit with the controversial delta smelt fish.

As the new focal point of the Aquarium, Pacific Visions provides a platform to integrate the arts and sciences and offers visitors innovative ways to explore their impact on our ocean planet while allowing them to explore sustainable solutions. The topics of how we produce and consume food energy and water as well as ways to make more sustainable choices are highlighted.

All 29,000 square feet and two stories, it is the Aquarium's first major expansion and the result of more than a decade of planning and development using the latest technology and methods of storytelling that combine art, science, and interactivity. Pacific Visions is an example of the aquarium of the future. Pacific Visions opens to the public on Friday May 24th. I'm writing about it now to give you plenty of time to prepare for a visit.This is a great event for the whole family.